Safe drinking water is the foundation of health, education, and opportunity. Yet in 2026, roughly one in four people on Earth still cannot count on water that is clean, close to home, and available when they need it. This page gathers the key facts, what they mean for families, and where the numbers come from.
The Global Picture
2.1 billion
people lack safely managed drinking water at home
3.4 billion
people lack safely managed sanitation
1.7 billion
people lack basic handwashing facilities with soap and water at home
1 in 4
people worldwide still lacks safe drinking water
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, 2025 update.
What “Safely Managed” Means
The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme ranks drinking water on a ladder. Only the top rung, safely managed, meets all three tests: the water comes from an improved source located on the premises, it is available when needed, and it is free from fecal and priority chemical contamination.
| Service level | What it means |
|---|---|
| Safely managed | Improved source on premises, available when needed, free from contamination |
| Basic | Improved source, collection round trip of 30 minutes or less |
| Limited | Improved source, but collection takes more than 30 minutes round trip |
| Unimproved | Unprotected dug well or unprotected spring |
| Surface water | Drinking directly from a river, dam, lake, pond, stream, canal, or irrigation channel |
Why It Matters
Health
Contaminated water spreads diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio. Diarrheal disease remains one of the leading causes of death for children under five, and most of those deaths are preventable with safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Education
When water is far away, children, especially girls, spend hours carrying it instead of sitting in class. Schools without water and toilets see lower attendance, particularly among adolescent girls.
Livelihoods
Time spent collecting water and days lost to illness keep families in poverty. Reliable water supports farming, small businesses, fishing, and food safety.
Women and Girls
In households without water on the premises, women and girls carry most of the burden of collecting it. Bringing water closer returns that time to school, work, and family.
Climate and Resilience
Droughts, floods, rising seas, and saltwater intrusion are putting new pressure on already fragile water supplies. Resilient, low-energy systems such as solar pumping and solar desalination help communities adapt.
Ecosystems
Rivers, wetlands, and estuaries filter and store the water we depend on. Plastic and sewage pollution, like the crisis in the Tijuana River, harm both people and wildlife downstream.
Earth’s Water in Perspective
- About 97% of the planet’s water is salt water in the oceans.
- Only about 2.5% is fresh water, and most of that is locked in ice caps, glaciers, and deep groundwater.
- Less than 1% of all water on Earth is fresh water that is readily accessible in lakes, rivers, and shallow aquifers.
- Agriculture accounts for roughly 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, industry about 20%, and households about 10%.
Common Drinking Water Contaminants
| Contaminant | Where it comes from | Health concern |
|---|---|---|
| Bacteria, viruses, protozoa | Sewage, animal waste, flooding | Diarrheal disease, cholera, typhoid, giardia |
| Lead | Old pipes, solder, fixtures | Brain and nervous system damage, especially in children |
| Arsenic | Naturally occurring in groundwater | Cancer, skin lesions, heart disease |
| Nitrates | Fertilizer runoff, septic systems | “Blue baby syndrome” in infants |
| Fluoride (excess) | Naturally occurring in some aquifers | Dental and skeletal fluorosis |
| PFAS (“forever chemicals”) | Industrial sites, firefighting foam | Linked to cancers, immune and developmental effects |
| Microplastics | Plastic pollution in rivers and oceans | Health effects still being studied |
Not sure which of these matter for your water? See our Filter & Systems Reference Guide to match a treatment method to each contaminant.